SAN FRANCISCO — State Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, announced Wednesday he has again introduced legislation that would restrict the sale of violent video games to minors, after a similar bill was stymied by the video-game industry last year.

The bill will likely set up a major showdown between child advocates, teachers and doctors on one hand, and the multi-billion-dollar video game industry and, perhaps, free-speech advocates on the other.

“These violent video games teach our children to hurt, to kill, to maim,” Yee said. “The victims are often poor people, minorities and women. This is not something we should teach our children.”

Yee’s bill would prohibit the sale, rental and distribution to minors under 17 of video games that depict serious injury to people in an especially cruel or heinous manner. Those violating the prohibition could be liable for a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation. The bill would also require video games to be labeled, “This game may not be sold to anyone under 17 years of age.”

Dr. Shannon Udovic, who represents the California Academy of Pediatricians, said there are roughly 3,500 studies that show a link between media violence and real-world violence. TheAcademy supports Yee’s bill.

To bring home his point, Yee showed clips from violent video games such as “Postal 2” and the “Grand Theft Auto” series. The clips showed characters controlled by game players urinating on a woman, shooting a priest in a church and dousing a police officer in gas and then lighting him on fire.

As the officer burns, a voice on “Postal 2” says, “Mmm … smells like chicken.”

Some studies have pointed to a potential link between violent video games and aggression. A 2000 study that appeared in an American Psychological Associa tion journal found college students who played violent video games in high school and junior high tended to engage in more aggressive behavior.

A video game industry official said there are no proven links between violent video games and violence, and questioned whether it would violate free speech to place restrictions on violent games.

“Would parents accept these kinds of restrictions on books and TV?” asked Jason Della Rocca, the executive director of the International Game Developers Association. “This notion of codifying games as harmful substances is absurd.”

Della Rocca, whose group represents about 6,300 video game programmers, artists and designers, said he expect the video game industry to mount a major fight against Yee’s bill.

The industry successfully lobbied against a similar bill which died in an Assembly committee during the last legislative session. Yee did manage to pass another bill that requires retailers to post a sign explaining the video game rating system.

Yee believes his bill will be successful this time around because it has a broader backing, including the Girl Scouts of America and the state Parent Teachers Association.

“I’m not going to underestimate the power of the entertainment industry lobby, but now they are going to have to say no to the doctors, the PTA and the Girl Scouts,” Yee said.